Computers and other electronic devices typically include one or more input devices, such as mice, keyboards, joysticks, and the like so a user can more easily interact with the device in question. Often, these input devices may be integrated with or into the associated electronic device. For example, a laptop computer may include a keyboard operably connected to its internal systems and housed within its enclosure.
Typical keyboards may include a scissor mechanism to translate a keycap vertically. Conventionally, scissor mechanisms may be formed out of plastic so that they can be snapped into place during assembly of the keyboard. However, due the inherently compliant nature of plastic, keys supported by plastic scissor mechanisms may have different force-displacement characteristics at a center of a keycap and a corner of the keycap. As one example, if a user presses the corner of the keycap, the keycap may bend or torque about the scissor mechanism rather than move downwards. Further, in some large keycaps, such as a spacebar, a plastic scissor mechanism may require a link bar to assist in transferring a force from the edge of a key to the center of the key, so that a force applied to an edge of the keycap may act to depress the key and thus activate an input switch located beneath a middle of the keycap.